Bethlehem approves another 1 million square feet of warehouse space

View full sizeExpress-Times File PhotoThe Bethlehem Planning Commission today approved an 800,000-square-foot warehouse for Liberty Property Trust and a 176,400-square-foot warehouse for Ashley Development Corp. on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land that is part of Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII off Emery Drive.

Another almost 1 million square feet of warehouse space will be coming to the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. site.

Liberty’s warehouse will be the company’s second large storage facility at LVIP VII. The company is building a 1.2-million-square-foot warehouse on Commerce Center Boulevard that will be completed in the summer, Liberty Senior Project Manager Bill Bumber said.

Both of Liberty’s warehouses and Ashley’s warehouse are being built without tenants, the developers said. Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan said during his 2012 State of the City address that the significant speculative construction is a strong “vote of confidence from the private sector on the future of the city of Bethlehem.”

Liberty was unsuccessful in courting Crayola for its warehouse but is unconcerned about attracting tenants, Bumber said.

Officials previously said Liberty’s 1.2-million-square-foot warehouse would likely employ between 500 and 600 people but Bumber said employment numbers will vary greatly depending on the tenant. Crayola, for example, is expected to employ between 60 and 80 people at its warehouse.

Liberty and Ashley both hope to start construction on their warehouses this spring, officials said. Ashley’s smaller warehouse should take about six months to build while the larger Liberty facility should take eight months, officials said.

Both warehouses received unanimous approval from the planning commission, which considered the two applications in less than 15 minutes. Commission Chairman Jim Fiorentino said it was the fastest meeting during his time on the board.

Both warehouses will be in the more developed section of LVIP VII on Emery Street, along Route 412; the park's lots along Commerce Center Boulevard, further south on Route 412, off much more land open for development.

The Liberty warehouse will essentially be the final property to be developed on Emery Street, according to Tracy Samuelson, Bethlehem’s assistant director of planning and zoning. Ashley’s warehouse will be along Spillman Drive and visible from Route 412 though a high berm and landscaping will screen most of it, according to Ben Serrecchia, a consulting engineer with T&M Associates.